LYNNWOOD, Wash. — A Tacoma man was sentenced Friday after he pleaded guilty in federal court last year to a hate crime and making false statements in connection with a December 2018 racially-motivated assault.
Jason DeSimas, 45, was one of four men from across the Pacific Northwest who punched and kicked a Black man and made derogatory comments about his race at a Lynnwood bar, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Nick Brown.
DeSimas was sentenced to four years in prison. Under a plea agreement, both the prosecution and defense recommended a three-year prison sentence.
In 2018, DeSimas was a prospective member of a white supremacist group traveling through Seattle at the time. DeSimas talked about using "mutual combat" against members of groups he opposed, according to Brown's office.
"Mutual combat" involved going into bars and initiating fights so other members of his group could join in. In the early morning hours of Dec. 18, 2018, DeSimas and other group members went into a bar in Lynnwood and assaulted a Black man that was working as a DJ there. The group also assaulted two other men who came to the victim's aid, according to Brown's office.
The attackers shouted racial slurs and made Nazi salutes before and during the assault.
Tyrone, who asked that we not use his last name, told KING 5 it is a moment that forever changed his life.
"Before this I was free and outgoing, worked at Boeing for eight-and-a-half years. For fun and hobbies, I would go to my friends and DJ,” Tyrone explained.
Tyrone was the DJ at the tavern when the group violently attacked. He said his injuries were so bad that he now relies on a cane. PTSD and panic attacks are reasons he had to leave his job and a six-figure salary. Now he says he struggles to pay bills.
"My house is gone. My little Siberian husky is gone. A lot of things are gone,” Tyrone said.
Tyrone, who now has a fiancé and a baby, decided to move 3,000 miles away from Marysville. He said because of the attack he must take prescribed medicines every day.
"If I don't take them severe attacks happen to where I fall,” he said. "It is a lot that I lost."
In addition to the assault, DeSimas admitted to making false statements to the FBI during the investigation into the case. He claimed that neither he nor anyone else he was with used racial slurs during the assault. DeSimas later admitted he used a racial slur before, during and after the assault.
Daniel Delbert, 24, of Corvallis, Ore., also pleaded guilty to the assault. Jason Stanley, 44, of Boise, Ida., and Randy Smith, 39, of Eugene, Ore., were also charged in the case.